MJ | Architecture
BUILDING MATERIALS
Project 1: Solid vs Void
Shaping Light And Space
Building material is any material which is used for a construction purpose. This project is designed as an introduction to building materials that are commonly used in the local construction industry. As students, we are required to construct our choice of shapes using the given materials to explore and understand building making in relation to the materials, design considerations of material according to the properties and to finally understand how to intrinsic forms, limitations and boundaries of a material factor in a design process.
We are required to design and build any basic shape of our choice within a volume of 12”X12”X12” on a 1” base. Given some of the basic shapes include sphere, cube, cylinder, prisms and pyramids. The design has to be formed of three different materials with at least one of them being transparent/translucent. Finally, once completed with the design, drawings of plan, elevations and section have to be drawn in a manner which is understandable.
As for me, I came up with a design by articulating the triangles and pyramids to form a space which consists of solids and a main void. The form is designed through the consideration of shadow formed when light shines onto a certain pyramid. Hence, the design is formed by allowing solids to surround a void, allowing shadow to be casted into the void with only some light at certain parts.
It includes balsa wood, plastic sheet and perspex.
Project 2: Materiality Of Space
An Experiential Exploration
Building material is just about every type of available material that has been used at one time or another for creating various human homes, structures, and technologies. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, sand, wood, rocks and etc. have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products in various compositions are actively used in construction. This assignment is designed to introduce building materials that are commonly used in the construction industry. The spaces or building selected to study will allow one to understand the reasoning behind choices made by designers in terms of concepts, function use, environmental response, environmental profile, structural requirement, availability of resources and etc. when selecting or proposing building materials. It is also essential for students to see the transition from vernacular point of perspective to the current application in built environment.
In this project, we are to select a building/space to experience and explore in groups of 5. The project mainly allows us to experience the mood of the atmosphere and how the materials affect the ambience followed by exploring the types of building materials used throughout the building. As a group, we had to list every material followed by its components and to come up with a mood board of the area. After that, as individuals, we had analyse the space.
As for our group, we had chosen the Heritage Lane at Empire Damansara to be our site study. Mainly we chose this area because of its variety in shops and the raw materials used throughout the building. Apart from it, the entire space gives a nostalgic ambience allowing us an enjoyable space and allowed us to have fun as we carried out the project.